1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lithographic system and device manufacturing method.
2. Related Art
A lithographic apparatus is a machine that applies a desired pattern onto a substrate or part of a substrate. A lithographic apparatus can be used, for example, in the manufacture of flat panel displays, integrated circuits (ICs) and other devices involving fine structures. In a conventional apparatus, a patterning device, which can be referred to as a mask or a reticle, can be used to generate a circuit pattern corresponding to an individual layer of a flat panel display (or other device). This pattern can be transferred onto all or part of the substrate (e.g., a glass plate), by imaging onto a layer of radiation-sensitive material (e.g., resist) provided on the substrate.
Instead of a circuit pattern, the patterning device can be used to generate other patterns, for example a color filter pattern or a matrix of dots. Instead of a mask, the patterning device can be a patterning array that comprises an array of individually controllable elements. The pattern can be changed more quickly and for less cost in such a system compared to a mask-based system.
The number of individually controllable elements which may be provided in a given array may be restricted, for example due to manufacturing limitations. For this reason, it may be desired to provide several arrays of individually controllable elements in a given lithographic apparatus. Patterns projected from the arrays onto the substrate may be stitched together. Problems may arise as a result of this stitching together of the patterns.
Therefore, what is needed is a system and method directed to overcoming or substantially mitigating at least one problem associated with stitching together of patterns formed using multiple arrays of individually controllable elements.